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Veer-Zinda t1_j1mlgrj wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in I fell in love and my interests in books changed drastically. by kingkontroverseP0si

Yes, that's it. And healing shines a light on how destructive that is to the psyche, so it no longer appeals. It was never a conscious effort to stop. It just fell away along with a load of other unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.

Did you find any particular book helped with trauma? (If you don't mind me asking.)

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[deleted] t1_j1mmnwm wrote

That’s a long list. But -

1.) M.Scott Peck - People of the Lie

It’s essentially about human evil. One of the things abuse survivors do is lie to themselves about what’s happening. It’s really important to think about what is true.

2.) Psychopath Free - Jackson McKenzie

This was key for naming some of my craziest abuse situations as an adult.

3.) The Narnia Chronicles - CS Lewis

4.) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Tolkien

I swear those books help with a sense of felt safety.

Also, any author who clearly has a strong moral compass, in the secular humanist or any non denominational religious sense.

It’s important to reframe abuse as good vs evil, and visualize a world in which evil does not win.

Brandon Sanderson, Alastair Reynolds, Iain Banks, and again, Stephen King. Also, the poet Naomi Shehab Nye.

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